United States Constitution and Public Health Food Policy
Introduction
In the United States, the federal Constitution is the basis for all law and establishes the government’s duties, as well as limitations on the government’s power. No law created by a federal or state entity can violate the Constitution. Therefore, when government acts to protect public health, it must remain within constitutional boundaries. The Constitution is made up of two related parts. The main text, which consists of a preamble explaining the purpose of the Constitution, and seven Articles, was ratified in 1789. The rest of the Constitution consists of Amendments to the Constitution that have been passed over the centuries following ratification. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights, and they were ratified together in 1791. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect the rights of the people, and as such, it is directed at the government, setting limits on what the government can do with respect to the people. There is thus a constant tension between individual rights and the government’s exercise of its authority to protect public health. The Constitution also sets forth the division of responsibilities between the federal and state governments. This results in disagreements between the federal and state governments on their respective rights and responsibilities in the federalist framework. This chapter provides foundational information for all public health law within the context of food.
The Constitution provides Congress with a list of enumerated powers and reserves all other powers for the states.1 Of these powers, the federal government has four legal mechanisms to impact public health: regulate interstate commerce, tax, spend, and promulgate information. States have some concurrent and some
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unique public health powers. The constitutionally based powers will be described in this chapter and Chapter 9 will focus exclusively on state and local public health authority over food. Constitutional principles will arise throughout the book and are the backbone of food law in the context of public health.
